Mt St Helens
by NightSand
Summary: Annabeth tells the story about what happened at Mt St Helens, and the two weeks that Percy is missing from her POV. Based on book 4, The Battle of the Labyrinth. COMPLETE
1. Percy Becomes a Teacher

**Ok, so this is Annabeth's POV of what happens at Mt St Helens. The first time she kissed Percy, remember? I thought that she really needed to be heard, and so I wrote this. I've made it as close to the book as I can, and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan, one of the most amazing writers in the world owns the characters and plot. All I did was re-write a scene to be told by a different character. :)**

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**Percy Becomes a Teacher **

I put on my Yankees cap and vanished from sight, ignoring Percy's cry of "Hold it!"

Quickly I walked away from him, heading toward the forge. I knew that Seaweed Brain didn't like me doing this on my own, but let's face it; who had the invisibility cap?

I looked around, trying to find whatever Hephaestus was worried about. The forge was almost completely empty except for a few shadowy shapes that scuttled in the corners.

Deciding that maybe having Percy with me was a good idea after all, I moved back to where he was hiding. As I neared the entrance to the Labyrinth I gasped. Percy was gone.

Seaweed Brain, must you always be the hero?

I cast my eyes about, hoping to catch a glimpse of him somewhere. Just then I heard a commotion, coming from a small room at the end of a small tunnel towards the back of the forge. Creeping closer, I saw Percy standing on a cart with Riptide drawn. Surrounding him was a group of….dogs?

I knew that Percy would soon try to run my way, and against these creatures who all seemed to be young, I was pretty sure he could hold his own. After all, he was the best swordsman I'd ever seen other than Luke. So I backed up and hid behind a bronze cauldron. Sure enough, I soon heard Percy yelling, and then spotted him sprinting towards me, after slamming the door to the tunnel closed.

"Annabeth!" he yelled, looking around.

"Shh!" I grabbed him and pulled him down next to me.

I glared at him. "Do you want to get us _killed_?" He floundered around, finding my head and pulling off my cap. I continued to glare at him, fuming at his stupidity.

"Percy, what is your problem?"

"We're going to have company!" he explained, telling me about the dog-like creatures and how he had given them a short lesson on the dangers of Celestial bronze. My eyes widened. I couldn't help it. Only my Seaweed Brain could have come up with something that stupid – or brilliant, depending on how you looked at it.

"So that's what they are," I said. "Telekhines. I should have known. And they're making…. Well, look."

Percy and I both looked over the rim of the cauldron, and saw four fully-grown Telekhines standing on the platform. They were hammering a piece of glowing metal, and sparks were flying everywhere.

"The blade is almost complete," one said. "It needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals."

"Aye," said a second. "It shall be even sharper than before."

Percy looked at me. "What is that?" he whispered.

I shook my head. "They keep talking about fusing metals. I wonder – "

"They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon," Percy said. "And they…..they said they made my father's trident."

"The Telekhines betrayed the gods. They were practising dark magic," I said. "I don't know what, exactly, but Zeus banished them to Tartarus."

"With Kronos…"

I nodded. "We have to get out – "

As soon as I began that sentence, the door which Percy had shut burst open, young Telekhines pouring out. They were evidently searching for Percy.

He looked at me. "Put your cap back on," he said. "Get out!"

"WHAT?!" I shrieked. I couldn't help it. Get out, and leave him? "No! I'm not leaving you!"

"I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider – maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."

"But you'll get killed!" I was getting desperate. I knew that look in his eyes – the hero look Chiron called it. He would see this through no matter what.

"I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice." he told me.

I glared at him. I felt like punching him so badly, but I was more angry at myself for letting it come to this. Athena always has a plan? That maybe be true, but Annabeth doesn't.

Knowing I had no choice but to leave, I kissed him, hoping that this wasn't the last time I would. "Be careful Seaweed Brain." I pulled on my cap and vanished.

The look on Percy's face was perfect. He sat there for a moment, dazed, before shaking his head to clear it.

"There!" one of the young sea demons had spotted Percy. It pointed at him, and the entire class charged at him. Percy ran to the centre of the platform, surprising the four Telekhines working on the blade. Before he could escape however, they had moved to block all the walkways leading off the platform. The son of Poseidon was trapped.

I put my hand to my mouth, wishing I could do something. But there were too many of them, and Percy had wanted me to be free. I needed to tell Hephaestus what was going on.

And so I watched, with my heart thumping, to see what would happen next.

One of the elder sea demons was talking to him. Another snarled, saying something I couldn't quite hear. Percy raised Riptide, preparing to fight.

I looked at his face and saw the look of one who knew that he would most likely die here, and had accepted it.

Oh Seaweed Brain!

I knew Percy didn't have a plan, but I also knew why he had lied. He had wanted me to get out safe.

As I watched, his hand brushed against something in his pocket, and he hesitated, as if wondering whether to use whatever it was.

Before he seemed to come to a decision, the tallest telekhine who seemed to be the leader grabbed something form an open furnace, and hurled it at Percy. I gasped when I saw it was lava, but strangely Percy didn't cry out. He dropped his sword and batted frantically at the flame, but it was obvious that it hadn't hurt him.

Then the others joined in, pelting Percy with molten rock. He screamed in agony, and my heart seized up, feeling the pain as if it was my own. Percy crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain and still screaming those agonizing screams.

I couldn't stand it any longer. My eyes streaming with tears, I fled from the mountain, away from Seaweed Brain's anguished cries. When I reached the Labyrinth I ran a few metres into it, then dropped to the ground and sobbed.

I had failed Percy.

Just then, a rumble began, coming from the way to Mt St Helens. The smell of the sea hit my nose, followed by an immense explosion which threw me backwards. Before I even checked what had happened, I knew. No one could have survived that blast.

Percy Jackson, my Seaweed Brain and best friend, was dead.

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**So, thats that one. I haven't decided whether or not it will be a one-shot, maybe the reviews will tell me to continue or not (hint hint).**

**Till next time!**


	2. Two Weeks of Hoping

**Ok, since everyone was telling me 'please don't stop, more, more!', I decided to write up until Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood. After this chapter there will be one more. **

**A big thank you to ALL reviewers! :D**

**This chapter is quite emotional (I thought), because Annabeth is coming to terms with Percy's 'death'. It written differently from the previous chapter because there was nothing in the book about it, other than he was missing for 2 weeks. So this is a bit more serious than most of Rick's writing.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns ALL of the characters mentioned here. The ideas are mostly mine however, as is the words.**

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**Two Weeks of Hoping**

I sat on the floor of the Labyrinth and sobbed. My heart refused to let me believe that I would never see that silly Seaweed Brain again, but my mind wouldn't let me cling to that hope. Over and over, it played back to me the evidence that Percy was truly gone, and that he was never coming back.

After a few minutes of crying my heart out, I stopped and wiped my tears away, standing up as I did so. Even if I was the only surviving member of my quest, I still had to finish it.

I set the metal spider on the ground and watched as it began to scuttle down the tunnel. I followed at a safe distance - it may be an automaton made by Hephaestus, but I was a child of Athena, and spiders did not agree with us.

On the way back I thought about my fail of a quest. Sure, some had come back with one or two people missing - the quest last summer had proved that - but never had the entire team, save one, disappeared. I remembered Chiron's words to me when I announced that I was taking three people along.

_"Annabeth. Consider well... Last summer, five went on a quest... Only three came back...Three is a sacred number...Four... this is risky."_

I sighed unhappily. Chiron was right. I should never have taken three. Now this quest had turned into the greatest disaster and tragedy I had ever heard of in Greek history.

Eventually, I made it back to the main forge of Hephaestus. The ugly god turned at the sound of my approach, his face unreadable. Looking past him, I saw a news report that showed Mt St Helens exploding in a ball of fire and water. Many scientists would wonder how salt water could have got into the mountain, but I knew it was because of Percy.

At the thought of him my eyes filled with tears again, and I nearly missed the question Hephaestus asked.

"So, who was it?"

"Huh?" I looked up, furiously blinking the water out of my eyes.

"Who had taken over my forge?" the god of fire and machines repeated again slowly.

"Oh... Telekhines. They were making a new weapon for Kronos." I sniffed, thinking about Percy. "He - Percy - sacrificed himself to let me get away."

I gave in to my emotions and began to cry in earnest. Hephaestus looked away awkwardly, and I remembered my mom telling me that he was more comfortable around machines and automatons, than humans.

For minutes we stood awkwardly, until I had had enough of crying and got my tears under control.

"Well...ahem... I suppose I must thank you for what you did." The fire god looked even more uncomfortable when he added, "And I want to say sorry for your friend. If you wish, I will send you back to Camp Half-Blood, to inform Chiron about the...losses."

As I nodded slowly, he clicked his fingers and suddenly I was standing at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill. With a heavy heart, I began to climb the slope, picturing the faces of everyone when I told them the news.

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"P-Percy's... Percy's dead?"

I shook my head violently. "NO! Not dead, just...missing." I could tell by their looks that while everyone was trying to be optimistic, no one really believed that Percy could still be alive.

"He...he set off the explosion at St Helens," I gulped down some air, then continued. "The telekhines had cornered him, and started throwing lava at him," I paused again, and looked around at the horrified faces around the table. Only Mr D seemed unaffected, playing with a deck of cards while assuming a bored expression on his face. "He sc-screamed, then there was a rush of water and the mountain erupted. That was the last I saw of him." I finished my tale and looked down at my lap. I didn't want to see pity in the other's expressions.

We all sat there in silence for a while, before I pushed back my chair and stood up. "I'm going to my cabin." Nobody moved as I left the Big House.

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Chiron sighed heavily. His face was haggard, and it looked like he had aged 50 years - which was impossible, seeing as he was immortal. "Well, we must keep an open mind. It is possible, as Annabeth has said, that Percy Jackson is still alive." he sighed again. Clearly, despite his words, Chiron did not expect to find Percy alive and well.

The group continued to sit in silence, until Chiron decided they had brooded enough. He got up and said, "We must tell the others. Everyone deserves to know what happened on the quest." A wave of nods swept the room, accompanied by a few muttered assents. "Call the campers to the dining pavilion."Chiron said before clopping out of the room.

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I sat blankly in my seat, barely noticing the words coming from Chiron's mouth. After uttering the last sentence, a collective gasp went up, and many people burst into tears. Percy had been well loved. Even the Ares cabin, who apparently hated his guts, looked devastated at the news.

Many heads had turned towards me, some curious, some sympathetic. I didn't care. Most of these people believed he was dead, but I couldn't. The pity wasn't needed.

"However unlikely, we must still believe that Percy is still alive. We must not give up hope." Chiron finished speaking and bowed his head, stepping off the platform. More whispers circulated the room. Percy Jackson, still alive? After that explosion? It would be too good to be true.

Before anyone could ask any questions, or come up to give their condolences, I ran out of the pavilion, angry tears streaming down my face. How dare they not believe that he was still alive! But even my own head betrayed me, whispering that he was dead, that he was never coming back.

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The next few days passed in a blur. Sally Jackson was told about her missing son, and we often took comfort in each other. I grew used to visiting her house, although it awoke memories of Percy every time. We exchanged news every single time, but neither of us ever had much to offer.

When I wasn't visiting Sally, I threw myself into training, planning and searching at camp. Apparently Percy's spectacular ending had awoken Typhon, and the giant was attempting to climb out of his prison. Chiron, the other cabin leaders and I prepared battle plans, waiting for the time when the camp would be attacked by Kronos' army.

Though I busied myself with jobs, I couldn't forget Percy. I sent out Iris messages to everyone I knew, to the gods, Thalia, and others, for any sign of where he could be. I watched the news daily, for any possible clue as to if he was still alive. But as the days passed and a week went by, I began to lose hope.

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It was 13 days after the incident at Mt St Helens. I was lying on my bed, wracking my brains for anything that could lead me to where Percy might be, HAD to be, alive, when it struck me. Grover! He had an empathy link with Percy. If he was alive, that would mean Percy would be too! The only problem was that no one had seen him or Tyson since they had left Percy and I to search for the lost god Pan. I ran straight to the Big House, surprising Chiron who was just coming out.

"Annabeth! Whatever is the matter?" he exclaimed, obviously startled to see me.

"I need to IM Grover," I explained hurriedly. " The empathy link..."

Chiron understood immediately, and quickly ushered me inside.

After establishing a sufficient rainbow, I tossed in a drachma and asked to see Grover Underwood, satyr. A few minutes passed before a female voice informed me that the connection was not available, and suggested that I try again later. The Iris message disappeared.

I sank onto a chair. I had hoped to reach Grover, but maybe I couldn't, because he was dead. That meant, one way or another, that Percy was too. I looked up at Chiron and said huskily, "We need to burn his shroud."

I expected Chiron to look surprised, but he simply nodded sadly and left to organise the making of the shroud, and the burning of it tomorrow.

I sat there for a while longer, remembering all the things I had liked about Seaweed Brain. His sea green eyes, his dark hair that always looked as if he had just rolled out of bed, no matter what he did with it. I remembered the smell of the ocean that always followed him, proving that he was indeed Poseidon's son. I liked the way I could call him Seaweed Brain, without him getting mad. I thought of our first and last kiss, and savoured the memory of it. I thought about the time last summer when he had come to rescue me from Luke, even if it meant that he had needed to sneak away from camp. I cast my mind even further back, to when we had gone to rescue Grover from Polyphemus, and then the first time I met him, when we went on the Lightning Thief quest. Percy had been a true hero, loyal and brave. You could never ask for a better friend.

I sat there and remembered, so that I would never forget.

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**There you go. A chapter on the two weeks that Percy is missing. **

**I hope you liked the last paragraph. I thought that is was really meaning full, and just the sort of thing Annabeth would do if she really did lose someone.**

**Next chapter is coming soon (and so is Percy!). I hope you enjoy this chapter! ;)**

**Reviews?**

**P.S. Thanks to Catman6543 for editing this chapter, and all the others that I've wrote. You guys should check out her story!**


	3. I Yell at My Best Friend

**This is what everyone that has read this is waiting for... The final chapter. I'm quite happy with how it ends, and will not be writing anymore to this story. It is complete, and I don't want ot ruin it by adding more than it needs.**

**I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: Skip reading this part. This is when I say that I do not, and never will, own Percy Jackson. The only thing I own is my imagination. :)**

**Enjoy!**

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**I Yell at my Best Friend**

That night, I lay on my bed, not even trying to sleep. Tomorrow we would burn Percy's shroud, and that would be the end of him. Deep down, a part of me was still screaming that Seaweed Brain was alive, that we shouldn't be burning the shroud. But if he was, then where would he be? Why hadn't he let us know that he was alive? No, Percy was dead, and the sooner I accepted that, the sooner I could get on with my life.

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When morning came, I got out of bed and wearily got dressed. I was too tired, both physically and mentally to think much anymore, having stayed up all night arguing with myself. Needing some fresh air, I stepped outside of the Athena cabin, and took a long, deep breath. It occurred to me that in the whole two weeks after Percy's death, I had not set one foot inside the Poseidon cabin. Bracing myself, I decided that it was time I did so.

The cabin was just as Percy had left it – messy. The salt water fountain was in pieces, and I remembered what Tyson had said the morning we left.

"He killed the water fountain last night."

I smiled sadly. It was very true. The fountain was dead, just like Percy. But fountains can be fixed. Dead people couldn't.

Taking my eyes off the ruined fountain, I walked over to the table that lay beside Percy's bunk. The Minotaur horn was still there, collecting dust like everything else in this lonely cabin. I considered taking it with me, but decided against it. Poseidon's children were few and far between because of the oath. I doubted anyone would live in this cabin anytime soon.

I spent another half-an-hour in there, wiping all the dust off everything. I didn't touch anything else, choosing instead to leave it so it looked like Percy could walk in at any moment. It wouldn't be right to clean it up. Seaweed Brain was not a neat person, so his cabin could stay messy, even if he wasn't here.

As soon as I finished I returned to my cabin, collecting all of my siblings to lead them to breakfast. None of us spoke much, everyone already mourning Percy Jackson, the hero. The same was said of all the other cabins, so breakfast was not the noisy, carefree meal it usually was. If anyone spoke, it was in a whisper, and even those were scarce.

At the end of the meal, Chiron stood up and announced that in one hour we would gather at the amphitheatre to burn Percy's shroud. We all filed out, and returned to our own cabins.

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After the hour had passed, we all gathered at the amphitheatre. Although I had stopped crying 6 days earlier, burning the shroud was a little too close to home, and I couldn't hold myself back. I tried in vain to stop, but gave up, telling myself mentally that Seaweed Brain was definitely worth some more tears.

And so I sat, crying softly, as camper after camper came up to give their sympathies, or to say a few words. I simply nodded, too overwhelmed by emotion to do anything else.

Finally, Chiron stood up. "For the past two weeks we have hoped that there was a chance he had survived. However, it is time that we assume he is dead. After so long a silence, it is unlikely that our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best surviving friend to do the final honours." Chiron looked at me and beckoned me up to the front.

I dried my eyes and stood. Taking the torch, I set fire to Percy's shroud and watched as the fire consumed it. It had been well made, using green silk cloth, with a trident embroidered on it. Percy deserved such a beautiful thing.

I turned back to the crowd of demigods. I knew I probably looked terrible, because my eyes always went red and puffy after crying. Taking a deep breath, I began to speak.

"He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. He…." I spotted movement at the back of the theatre and my face went red as I recognised who it was. "He's right there!"

Everyone gasped and turned around. For there he was, my Seaweed Brain, who I'd given up for dead, standing up and looking very much alive.

"Percy!" Beckendorf smiled broadly. I watched as the other campers crowded him, hugging, shaking hands and clapping him on the back.

"Well," Chiron sighed, obviously relieved. "I don't think I have ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me – "

I couldn't take it anymore. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" I interrupted, shoving people out of the way. I stormed up to him, glaring furiously. Percy took a step backwards and tensed, very clearly expecting a punch. To take him by surprise, I hugged him fiercely, not caring if I broke a couple of rips. Percy would deserve it if I did. "I – we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"

"I'm sorry. I got lost." he said.

"LOST!?" my temper flared up again. "Two weeks Percy! Where in the world – "

Before I could continue, Chiron interrupted me.

"Annabeth. Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!" Without waiting for an answer, he picked me and Percy up, set us down on his back and galloped off to the Big House.

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I listened to the story Percy was telling. It could all be true, but if he was stranded on an island, couldn't he just swim off? After all, he was the son of the sea god, for goodness sake. I had the feeling Percy was hiding something, and the more I thought about it, the more I suspected which island he had been 'marooned' on.

I realised then that Percy had finished talking and brought myself back to the present.

"You've been gone two weeks." I managed to keep my voice steady, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking slightly. This was too much like a dream. "When I heard the explosion, I thought – "

"I know. I'm sorry," Seaweed Brain looked at me when he said that, and I saw that he was truly sorry. "But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus."

I perked up. Maybe my quest wouldn't end in failure after all. "He told you the answer?"

"Well, he sort of told me that I already knew. And I do. I understand now."

Percy told us his idea.

My jaw dropped. That was the most ridiculous and crazy idea I'd ever heard of. I told him so.

Chiron leaned back in his wheelchair. "There is a precedent however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."

I stared at him. I thought he would be on my side. "But this is my quest. I need to lead it."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest, but you need help."

"And this is supposed to help? Please!" I burst out, getting angry now. I didn't mind so much getting the help of a mortal, but that girl! It was bad enough that I suspected that Percy had been in Calypso's island. "It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's – "

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy interrupted. "But it's true."

I glared at him, my earlier joy at finding him alive gone. "You are the single most annoying person I have ever met!" and I stormed out of the room.

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I knew that Percy would be hurt by my words, but I had been hurt by his. The past three years my crush on him had been getting stronger, and when I kissed him at Mt St Helens I thought he might get the idea. But bringing another girl in, one who he'd met twice, and who had given him her phone number, it made me feel like I had been I punched in the stomach. I had wanted Seaweed Brain back for so long, but now that he was, I felt betrayed.

I sat on the steps to my cabin and watched the other campers going about their activities. They were more focused than I'd ever seen them before, and the cheerfulness that usually accompanied their movements was gone. That was when I made up my mind. I couldn't be selfish and jealous over Percy – the whole camp was depending on my quest. To give that up for a boy was wrong. I may not like it, but if it came to that, I could get over him if I had to. But Camp Half-Blood needed to survive, for future generations of demigods. I came to a decision and stood. I would see this to the end, whatever happens.

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**There we go. Did it end alright? Even if it didn't you'll just have to be content.**

**Thank you so much to those who reviewed, favourited or followed this story. I don't think i've ever been so happy to have lots of emails clogging up my Inbox. :D**

**I love you guys!**

**P.S. No matter what Catman6543 says, you should definately read her story. ;)**


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